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Michael R. Pickering had just picked up his 10-year-old daughter from school and the two were running errands when the truck he was driving slammed into the side of a Chevy Suburban.

The 52-year-old Keystone Heights man and retired Jacksonville police officer was killed in the crash Tuesday in Alachua County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Pickering was westbound in a Chevy S-10 on Florida 26 about 2:45 p.m. when he hit the side of the Suburban that was turning from a stop sign on the Old Florida 26 Access Road, according to the Highway Patrol.

James F. Means, 73, of Earlton was driving the Suburban with passenger Joshua D. Niebaum, 35, and both men are listed in serious condition, according to the Highway Patrol.

Pickering was a 30-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office before his retirement in 2013. He started as a corrections officer in 1983 and became a police officer in 1987 where he served in many roles, said Michelle Cook, chief of Patrol East with the Sheriff’s Office.

She said he last served as a member of the four-wheel drive unit at Huguenot Park before he retired.

His wife, Diane Pickering, is the communications supervisor for the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, overseeing all dispatch and other communications for the agency, said spokeswoman Mary Justino.

“He was more than a great husband. He was a great dad, son, brother, grandfather, friend … and an awesome police officer,” his wife said in a statement from the Sheriff’s Office. “Michael loved his family, his Gators and loved his motorcycle.”

In January 2012, Michael Pickering suffered a heart attack while chasing a shoplifting suspect, according to UF Health Jacksonville, where he was treated. After feeling chest pains, Pickering called an ambulance but did not say it was for him, according to a hospital publication that recounted the attack and his treatment.

He recovered from the heart attack and returned to work before retiring. He was an advocate for CPR after the heart attack, Cook said. He worked with the American Heart Association and stressed the importance of knowing CPR to his peers at the Sheriff’s Office.

Cook said Pickering was a reliable officer who was still chasing criminals late in his career.

She said he was “the type of officer young officers should aspire to be like.”

There will be a viewing Friday 4 to 8 p.m. at Jones Gallagher Funeral Home at 340 E. Walker Drive in Keystone Heights.

The funeral will be Saturday at 10 a.m. at St. Williams Catholic Church at 210 Southwest Peach St. in Keystone Heights followed by a service at The Keystone Heights Cemetary on Florida 100.